Sports Archive

SPORTS ARCHIVE

A season that started off as 0-3 came full circle last weekend when the Huskies knocked off the number 4 team in the nation MSU-Mankato. The Mavericks came into the game with an undefeated record at 10-0 and were top dogs in the conference but that all came to an end when the clock read 0:00 in the 4th quarter. With 5:15 remaining in the game, the Huskies went on a 10 play, 95-yard scoring drive to capture the lead and victory.

There were many story lines in the game that gave back the "Traveling Training Kit" to Saint Cloud. No bigger was the performance of senior back-up quarterback, Derek Stripling. Stripling who had started only one game before last Saturday, threw for 150 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions while rushing for 97 yards and two scores as well. Stripling who lost out on the starting job to Mitch Watkins two seasons ago, finally got his shot and came through in the end.

Injuries also threw another Husky into the spotlight, and gave the game another big performance. Dante Steward and Jake Machacek were filling in for Brandon Geiss who was out the last few weeks with a broken leg, but it was all Steward when Machacek went down in the 2nd half with an ankle injury. Steward scored the go ahead touchdown with under a minute to go in the game and capped off a game that was back and forth throughout.

The Mavericks had their opportunities but had an uncharacteristic four turnovers in the game including two of them inside the 5 yard line. The biggest defensive play came early in the 4th quarter with the Mavericks leading by one, Ernest Walker was stripped by senior Brian Kampa at the Huskies 1 yard line and was recovered by Saint Cloud.

The win for Saint Cloud pushes their conference record to 7-3 and a resulting tie for 3rd place in the NSIC. It is now up to an NSIC committee to decide what team will play for the Mineral Water Bowl on December 5th. The top team from the NSIC that doesn't make the playoffs plays the top team from the MIAA. Saint Cloud State along with Wayne State and Bemidji State are the top teams to be considered for the honor. Results should be known early in the week.

If it does end up being the last game for Saint Cloud this season, they will have a lot of positives to look back on, including the big upset of MSU. Playing potentially their last games for State were quarterbacks Mitch Watkins, Derek Stripling, tight ends Cody Anderson-Norblom and House Niesche, linebackers Paul Denne and Gyangelo Bradden and defensive back Brian Kampa.

Friday night saw the Saint Cloud State women’s hockey team continue their hot hand on offense and upset the fifth ranked Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs 5-1. Saturday the Bulldogs showed they can put the puck in the net as well, defeating the Huskies 5-0 and earning the split. It was a balanced effort in game one for the Huskies as they were solid on both the offensive and defensive side of the puck. Senior forward Holly Roberts scored her first two goals of the season and three other players lit the lamp for SCSU while junior netminder Ashley Nixon stood tall in net. The Blaine, Minnesota native stopped 31 of 32 Bulldog shots for the win.

Game two saw a different goaltender for the Huskies and a different result as the Bulldogs dominated play from start to finish, winning 5-0. Audrey Cournoyer paced the offensive effort for UMD with three assists and Jennifer Harss stopped all 24 Husky shots for the shutout.

SCSU is now 3-7 overall and 2-6 in the WCHA and will head to Bemidji this weekend to take on the Beavers. Game time Friday is 7:07 p.m. and Saturday the puck drops at 2:07 p.m.

The struggles for the Saint Cloud State soccer team against Minnesota-Duluth continued this past weekend as the Bulldogs ended the season for the Huskies in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Playoffs. UMD opened up the scoring at the 29:40 mark and never looked back, taking the win 2-1. The bright spot for the Huskies was the play of NSIC Co-Newcomer of the Year Margie Jancik, who scored her third goal of the season. Elizabeth Kelly made seven saves in net for SCSU in what ended up being the senior’s final game as a Husky. SCSU finished the 2009 campaign with an 11-5-4 overall record and a 9-3-2 record in the always tough NSIC conference.

St. Cloud State forward Meaghan Pezon has been named the WCHA’s Offensive Player of the Week for her performance during last weekend’s games versus North Dakota. Pezon tallied six points on the weekend, including a four-point performance on Friday night where she scored two goals and added two assists in a 5-4 overtime loss. Pezon also helped SCSU earn the split with UND on Saturday afternoon when she had two assists in St. Cloud’s 3-2 victory.

In eight games this season, Pezon has scored three goals and five assists, and her eight points rank second on the team. Pezon and the Huskies take on the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs this weekend. The puck drops at 7:07 p.m. both Friday and Saturday at the National Hockey Center, and both games can be heard on KVSC.

Williams had 7 receptions for 126 yards and the four scores while Jake Machacek and Dante Steward continued to fill in nicely for the injured Brandon Geiss. Machacek averaged close to 9 yards a carry while rushing for 129 yards and a touchdown. Steward chipped in for another score and 98 yards as well.

For the second consecutive week, the Huskies also had a new signal caller under center. Derek Stripling got the start as Mitch Watkins's shoulder was still giving him trouble before the game but the Huskies saw its starter go down again in the first half. Stripling had to come out of the game after he bit hard down on his tongue after a late hit by the Dragons. The injury was severe enough to keep him out of the game as red-shirt freshman Brad Meade came in and perfromed well. Meade was 4-7 on completions for 66 yards and 2 touchdowns. Both Stripling and Watkins are figured to be ready to play come Saturday as the Huskies close out the year with MSU-Mankato at home.

The Huskies now 6-4 overall and 6-3 in the conference host the nationally ranked Mavericks who are 9-0 in the conference and 10-0 overall. KVSC is bringing you coverage of the game on Saturday with the pre-game show starting at 12:40 p.m. and kickoff at 1 p.m.

Because of its third place finish in the Northern Sun Conference, the St. Cloud State soccer team gets to host the first round of the NSIC playoffs. The opponent on Wednesday November 4th for the 10-4-4 Huskies is Bemidji State. Saint Cloud defeated the Beavers earlier this season by a score of 2-1 in Bemidji. If the Huskies win, they’ll move to the NSIC Finals on November 6th and 8th. Of note, the ten wins for SCSU in the regular season is the second most in team history.

St. Cloud State wide receiver Fred Williams is the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference offensive player of the week for his performance against MSU-Moorhead. The junior wide receiver had seven catches, 126 yards and four touchdown receptions in the Huskies’ 47-0 win over the Dragons. The four touchdowns tie the Husky record for TD receptions in a game that is held by Ben Nelson who did it three times in his Husky career. On the season, Williams has 67 catches for 842 yards and eleven touchdowns.

Injuries have plagued the St. Cloud State volleyball team all season and players have been asked to step up. One player who did that this weekend was first-year outside hitter Lauren Cipperly. The Andover native filled in at the setter position on Saturday at home against Augustana and dished out a career high 33 set assists in route to a three-set sweep of the Vikings. The win for the Huskies ended a nine match losing streak. Kayla Tschida and Ashley Shields led SCSU in kills on the night with 12 and 10 respectively. The Huskies are now 7-21 overall and 3-12 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

The St. Cloud State women’s hockey team not only scored a goal in this past weekends series against North Dakota, they got their first WCHA win as well. Friday’s game provided plenty of goals and a thrilling finish. Team captain Felicia Nelson started the scoring in the first period with a power-play goal. The senior’s goal ended a scoring drought for SCSU of over 190 minutes and also stopped a 0-35 skid on the power-play. Another senior would step up big for the Huskies as Meaghan Pezon had a career high day with two goals and two assists. The four-point game is a career high for the Eden Prairie native. St. Cloud trailed 4-3 in the 3rd period before Caitlin Hogan scored to tie it up with less than a minute and a half left. UND would get the last laugh however as they scored in overtime to win 5-4. Kelly Lewis scored the power play winner for North Dakota in the extra period.

Saturday proved to be more of a defensive battle between the teams and SCSU would come out on top. Two more goals by Felicia Nelson and a two point night for Meaghan Pezon helped the Huskies to a 3-2 victory. St. Cloud State is now 2-6 in the overall and 1-5 in conference. The Huskies welcome the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs into the National Hockey Center November 6th and 7th. Both of those games are 7:07 starts and can be heard on 88.1 FM KVSC.

Now you can follow KVSC Hockey via twitter! Along with all the live on-air coverage KVSC 88.1FM already provides, we are now offering true Husky Hockey fans a chance to catch live updates by following KVSCHockey on twitter. Not only does our twitter hockey page provide updates throughout the game, but it also reminds fans of upcoming hockey coverage. Also, inside information in between games and announcements on upcoming interviews from coaches and players are all features one can get from following KVSC on twitter.

Sunday saw the Huskies celebrate senior day and send their seniors off with a win. SCSU senior goalkeeper Elizabeth Kelly recorded her sixth shutout and eighth win of the season as she made one save in the game. The lone goal for SCSU was by Jancik, who scored her second goal on the weekend and first game winner. SCSU will head to Concordia St. Paul on Friday to take on the Golden Bears in the regular season finale.

Adding injury to insult is how last Saturday's game aganist Minnesota-Duluth will be remembered for the Saint Cloud State Football team. Sophomore Brandon Geiss was hurt on a first half carry and was out the rest of the game. Coach Underwood confirmed today that his star running back is likely be out for the rest of the year with a broken fibula.

Geiss who was averaging 83 yards a game with a 4.7 yards a carry average coming into last week's game is a big lose for a team that is currently 4-4 on the season. Geiss's six touchdowns will be missed but also his ability to pick up the blitz and zone protection.

With just three games remaining on the schedule it is figured that the team will mostly likely not push the matter to much and turn to two other running backs that have performed fairly well this season. Jake Machacek and Dante Steward will share the load in Geiss's absence. They have combined for a 80-yard average a game with a combined 4 touchdowns.

The Huskies will see how the new lineup looks come this Saturday when they take on the University of Mary at 2:30 p.m. at Husky Stadium. Listen to the game live here on KVSC with the pregame show starting at 2:10 p.m.

The SCSU Football team is winners of its last three games and look to make it four this weekend. The team is coming off a 38-27 win over Bemidji State last weekend and host the University of Minnesota-Crookston this Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at Husky Stadium.

Quarterback Mitch Watkins is coming off back-to-back career highs when he threw for 4 touchdowns in each of his last two games and has connected with five different receivers for touchdowns over that stretch. Running back Brandon Geiss has also been on a tear with averaging over 100 yards a game so far this season and averaging 4.9 yards a carry.

Minnesota-Crookston is still the only team in the NSIC without a conference win and sits at 1-5 overall. Saint Cloud is 3-2 in the confernece and 3-3 overall but is currently tied with Minnesota-Duluth for first place in the North Division with a 2-0 record. Tune in to KVSC on Saturday at 12:40 for pre-game coverage and kickoff at 1:00 p.m.

Even though the Saint Cloud State women's hockey team is traveling 144 miles north of Saint Cloud this weekend to Duluth, fans are still able to listen to the games online at kvsc.org. This weekend is a Saturday/Sunday series with the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs with the puck dropping Saturday at 6:07 p.m. and Sunday at 3:07 p.m. Live coverage starts seven minutes before puck-drop each game with Matt Bishop providing play-by-play and Aaron Bjorkstrand doing color commentary.

It's the Huskies versus the Bulldogs this weekend live online at kvsc.org. KVSC is the only place fans can hear Saint Cloud State women's Husky hockey!

Two goals by Ben Hanowski and by Brian Volpei and points from ten different players helped lead the Saint Cloud State men's hockey team past Lethbridge on Sunday. The exhibition game saw Hanowski, a local kid from Little Falls, tip in a Sam Zabkowicz shot from the point to open up the scoring and send the National Hockey Center crowd into a frenzy. Hanowski added another goal later in the contest. Brian Volpei was the only other Husky to score goals, as he added two, including the game winner. Volpei's second goal came in the third period and made it a 4-3 hockey game.

Of note, Nate Hardy recorded the win for SCSU. The third string goaltender played the entire third period and made eight saves. Highly touted freshman Mike Lee played the second period. The Roseau natve made six saves and gave up a goal in his debut. Junior goalie Dan Dunn started between the pipes for SCSU. The Huskies will start off their regular season on the road October 9th and 10th at top ranked Miami of Ohio.